The future of boxing on Sky Sports

[Ruthless-RKO]

Eddie spoke like he really misses Sky tonight on IFL. It was a good interview and he was being serious.

You got a link?

[maverick23]

Not renewed.

Any idea where Boxxer is going?

Are Sky going to take on another promotional company?

Maybe DAZN will keep on Matchrooms Saudi fighters, and the second tier will be brought on by sky?

I wonder if this had anything to do with Asim not fighting?

Boxxer will continue on Sky but on a show by show basis I think. They’ve got fighters who have deals with Sky too (like Whittaker). I don’t know if they have enough to do many other shows outside of that with a different network.

It won’t have anything to do with Azim not fighting. I’d imagine Sky were pushing Boxxer to improve the undercard last night hence the Azim fight being added.

[maverick23]

Unfortunately failed to find anything out. It was hard to get near the front as there were lots of fans. I asked Matt Macklin & one of Sky’s guys who were stood near me & both said they didn’t know.

All I would say is they certainly didn’t look like a set of workers who are worried about their jobs. Everyone seemed in good spirits.

They wouldn’t know.

The bulk of the sky workers (camera men, production crew etc) are employed by Sky and work on the range of sports. I know someone who usually covers the boxing but also does golf and tennis too. They won’t know what’s going on.

The pundits i’d imagine are paid like consultants. So when there’s work to do they’ll get asked and paid to do it. Wouldn’t have thought there’s any point having say a Matt Macklin on a salary because the shows aren’t frequent enough. Again, I’d imagine they won’t know what’s going on either until a formal decision is reached re: next steps.

Woolhouse, Macklin & Nelson are all salaried, as was Smith and Ed Robinson. What happens now though, I don't know.

That’s surpassing re: Macklin, I’m not sure he does enough to be salaried.

I got Nelson, Smith, Robinson 20 years ago when there was a fight most weeks and Ringside but it’s surprising Macklin is salaried if he’s doing one show a month.

[maverick23]

Eddie spoke like he really misses Sky tonight on IFL. It was a good interview and he was being serious.

I think he does miss them. DAzN haven’t got close to being able to push a fight like Sky can. They’re still not widely known even to sports fans.

[mickey1975]

Eddie spoke like he really misses Sky tonight on IFL. It was a good interview and he was being serious.

I think he does miss them. DAzN haven’t got close to being able to push a fight like Sky can. They’re still not widely known even to sports fans.

He also said Ben was attempting an impossible task replacing Matchroom at Sky. He likened it to replacing Sir Alex at Manchester United. He said it was one of the best sporting broadcaster partnerships of all time.

[maverick23]

Eddie spoke like he really misses Sky tonight on IFL. It was a good interview and he was being serious.

I think he does miss them. DAzN haven’t got close to being able to push a fight like Sky can. They’re still not widely known even to sports fans.

He also said Ben was attempting an impossible task replacing Matchroom at Sky. He likened it to replacing Sir Alex at Manchester United. He said it was one of the best sporting broadcaster partnerships of all time.

Of course that’s a bit OTT but there’s a lot of truth in that.

Boxing properly crossed over when Matchroom were at Sky and Adam Smith was leading the boxing. Helped that Barney Francis being a big boxing fan too.

[mickey1975]

I think he does miss them. DAzN haven’t got close to being able to push a fight like Sky can. They’re still not widely known even to sports fans.

He also said Ben was attempting an impossible task replacing Matchroom at Sky. He likened it to replacing Sir Alex at Manchester United. He said it was one of the best sporting broadcaster partnerships of all time.

Of course that’s a bit OTT but there’s a lot of truth in that.

Boxing properly crossed over when Matchroom were at Sky and Adam Smith was leading the boxing. Helped that Barney Francis being a big boxing fan too.

He wasn't in his salesman bullshit mood. He didn't take all the credit either, he said it was a joint effort by everyone at Matchroom and Sky.

[Flump]

I think he does miss them. DAzN haven’t got close to being able to push a fight like Sky can. They’re still not widely known even to sports fans.

He also said Ben was attempting an impossible task replacing Matchroom at Sky. He likened it to replacing Sir Alex at Manchester United. He said it was one of the best sporting broadcaster partnerships of all time.

Of course that’s a bit OTT but there’s a lot of truth in that.

Boxing properly crossed over when Matchroom were at Sky and Adam Smith was leading the boxing. Helped that Barney Francis being a big boxing fan too.

And this is where Smith was good, just not behind a bloody microphine

[Flump]

They wouldn’t know.

The bulk of the sky workers (camera men, production crew etc) are employed by Sky and work on the range of sports. I know someone who usually covers the boxing but also does golf and tennis too. They won’t know what’s going on.

The pundits i’d imagine are paid like consultants. So when there’s work to do they’ll get asked and paid to do it. Wouldn’t have thought there’s any point having say a Matt Macklin on a salary because the shows aren’t frequent enough. Again, I’d imagine they won’t know what’s going on either until a formal decision is reached re: next steps.

Woolhouse, Macklin & Nelson are all salaried, as was Smith and Ed Robinson. What happens now though, I don't know.

That’s surpassing re: Macklin, I’m not sure he does enough to be salaried.

I got Nelson, Smith, Robinson 20 years ago when there was a fight most weeks and Ringside but it’s surprising Macklin is salaried if he’s doing one show a month.

Well my info, without wanting to be a nudge nudge wink wink dick, crosses over into the Boxxer era, but it may have changed recently.

[a force]

Simpson said something about Ben having loads of dates to announce at the end of his interview & passed the mic to Shalom who quickly changed the subject

[tony1234]

Wonder if anyone else will get their shows on SKY now ? Can't see much clamour for the likes of fights with Price, Artingsall or Dubois with BOXXER backing them, others will have nowhere else to go.

Maybe an interesting future to see what happens in the next few months

[keithmoonhangover]

Wonder if anyone else will get their shows on SKY now ? Can't see much clamour for the likes of fights with Price, Artingsall or Dubois with BOXXER backing them, others will have nowhere else to go.

Maybe an interesting future to see what happens in the next few months

I wonder if the contracts of the big names have something in their contracts that stipulate their bouts must be televised.

[johninmanchester]

Boxxer future lies in co-promotion until its star names are poached.

Whittaker the key name. If/when they lose him, they are finished as a going concern.

Stable won't be improving. Besides the lack of money in the kitty, nobody with any potential is going to sign with them.

[Coco]

Asim already pulled out of that fight, him and Whittaker are his big names, Simpson the ticket seller

[maverick23]

Wonder if anyone else will get their shows on SKY now ? Can't see much clamour for the likes of fights with Price, Artingsall or Dubois with BOXXER backing them, others will have nowhere else to go.

Maybe an interesting future to see what happens in the next few months

I wonder if the contracts of the big names have something in their contracts that stipulate their bouts must be televised.

Apparently a handful do.

Will be interesting to see how it works. I’d imagine Boxxer will struggle to find a network to take their non Sky Sports fighters.

[keithmoonhangover]

Wonder if anyone else will get their shows on SKY now ? Can't see much clamour for the likes of fights with Price, Artingsall or Dubois with BOXXER backing them, others will have nowhere else to go.

Maybe an interesting future to see what happens in the next few months

I wonder if the contracts of the big names have something in their contracts that stipulate their bouts must be televised.

Apparently a handful do.

Will be interesting to see how it works. I’d imagine Boxxer will struggle to find a network to take their non Sky Sports fighters.

I can't imagine that powers that be at SKY have been sitting on their hands waiting for this to happen. Surely they've considered their options already and do what they think's best. I mean, barring the huge fights, boxing's a minority sport. That said, SKY have invested a lot of money in Whitaker, Azim et al, in the hope that they are going to be the next PPV stars. I don't see the broadcaster giving up on them quite yet.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Eddie Hearn: 'It was always going to be difficult for Boxxer to replicate what we did with Sky Sports'

Boxxer’s broadcast relationship with Sky Sports is reportedly over, ending a four-year partnership that began in the wake of Matchroom Boxing’s departure in 2021. The split, first reported by Daily Mail, brings a close to what was once pitched as a bold new era for British boxing on Sky – one that, despite a few big nights and breakout performances, never quite gathered the same momentum enjoyed by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom banner.

Now at the helm of a global operation with broadcaster DAZN, Hearn has unsurprisingly watched the news unfold with interest.

“I said before, and it's not to sound arrogant, but it was always going to be very difficult to replicate what we did with Sky, and it was not just us. It was us and Sky Sports,” Hearn told BS. “The whole team's working together to really bring the profile of the fighters up, the sport’s up. Great timing with Anthony Joshua, great pay-per-view model. Everything just clicked well.”

The Sky-Matchroom Boxing partnership peaked during the rise of Joshua, whose heavyweight ascent dovetailed perfectly with Sky’s appetite for premium pay-per-view events. But since Hearn took his roster to DAZN – a move backed by significant investment – Sky has struggled to establish a consistent pipeline of box office stars; Boxxer, relatively new to the market and starting from the ground up, signed a host of young stars like Adam Azim, Ben Whittaker and Caroline Dubois with long-term planning in mind.

“When we left, it was like, ‘OK, who are the new stars coming forward?’” Hearn said. “Can Boxxer create that profile and that buzz for the sport on the platform? I don't think they've done a bad job, but it was never easy to do.”

There has been no formal confirmation regarding what happens next for Boxxer and its stable but Hearn wouldn’t rule out some kind of continued presence on Sky’s schedule.

“I don't know the exact position. I'm only responding to the news like you are,” he said. “So I wouldn't be surprised if they did a couple of shows on [Sky Sports]. I think some of those fighters have contracts directly with Sky Sports, so we'll have to see.”

Boxxer's early run with Sky Sports featured a string of high-profile events, none bigger than the long-delayed grudge match between Amir Khan and Kell Brook in February 2022 – a pay-per-view event that drew significant interest. It felt like a statement of intent.

“I don't believe in ‘starting too well.’ I mean, what do you want – to start badly?” Hearn said. “You've got to make big fights when you can. I mean, they did have a good start. They made Khan against Brook, which was a fight that we tried to make for years.

“And it's not easy. Sometimes, obviously, the industry changes, the money for fighters changes, you've got to go deeper into the well, you've got to take more chances, you've got to maneuver a little bit better,” he said. “But, you know, I'm sure they'll stick around in some capacity.”

Might there now be place for Boxxer on DAZN?

“Why not? I mean, the more the merrier. The better the offering for DAZN subscribers, the better,” Hearn told BS. “But you have to ask yourself … you've got Matchroom, you've got Queensberry. Who can you bring to the platform that's going to make a significant difference to the subscriber base?

“And when you look at the talent roster of Matchroom and Queensberry, is bringing a Caroline Dubois or an Adam Azim – amazing fighters – to the platform going to significantly increase the subscriber base? Probably not. So I don't know. I believe those fighters have got contracts with Sky, so I don't know how it's going to work.”

[a force]

The big problem is that Hearn & Warren are backed by a company that are losing billions & the Saudi investment.

If DAZN had to break even & the Saudi’s weren’t involved then Boxxer & Sky would be flying because everyone would want to fight on there.

Barely anyone watches DAZN but it doesn’t matter because they seem relaxed at losing so much money. It might be money laundering, who knows.

When Hearn got the exclusive Sky deal his only competition was Warren on allegedly. He could pretty much have any British fighter he wanted.

The two situations couldn’t be more different.

[maverick23]

Boxxer are going legal against The Times and The Sunday Times.

https://www.BS.com/articles/bo ... -interests

It seems a bit pointless. They have been going after Boxxer but I’d be surprised if they’ve published things that aren’t accurate.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[tony1234]

They never showed much in the Summer but it was telling that they didn't have any shows lined up during the Summer. Wonder who will be the first to leave Boxxer ?

[johninmanchester]

Boxxer are going legal against The Times and The Sunday Times.

https://www.BS.com/articles/boxxer-to-c ... -interests

It seems a bit pointless. They have been going after Boxxer but I’d be surprised if they’ve published things that aren’t accurate.

Great move

Go legal, claiming Sky dropped you because of these articles

Creating the opportunity for Sky to clarify if that was the case, or if you were dropped for other reasons such as being garbage.

5D chess.

On top of which you're suing The Times, when your legal team puts 12 rounds into a 10 round contract.

Should be a short fight this one.

[keithmoonhangover]

Johnny Nelson was very confident about SKY's future in boxing, during a recent interview.

[margaret thatcher]

shalom is a fraud, no surprise he couldnt last. he struck gold being given the position at all

[Jimmy2025]

The big problem is that Hearn & Warren are backed by a company that are losing billions & the Saudi investment.

If DAZN had to break even & the Saudi’s weren’t involved then Boxxer & Sky would be flying because everyone would want to fight on there.

Barely anyone watches DAZN but it doesn’t matter because they seem relaxed at losing so much money. It might be money laundering, who knows.

When Hearn got the exclusive Sky deal his only competition was Warren on allegedly. He could pretty much have any British fighter he wanted.

The two situations couldn’t be more different.

It's not money laundering, it's OPM, isn't it?